Sikkim, Darjeeling, Kalimpong, the Dooars and Bhutan · a planner replies within one working day
Try "Gangtok", "toy train", "rhino", "Bhutan permit"
Four nights in Gangtok with day trips to Tsomgo Lake, Nathu La and Rumtek, starting and ending at NJP or Bagdogra. It is the classic first trip to Sikkim, with one spare half day built in for weather.
This is the trip most people mean when they say they are going to Sikkim. You stay four nights in one hotel in Gangtok, so there is no daily packing, and make day trips up to the high lakes and the border pass and across the valley to Rumtek.
The plan puts a full day in Gangtok before the climb to 4,310 m, which gives your body time to adjust and gives the agent time to process the Nathu La permit. If snow or a landslide cancels the high trip, the town day and the Rumtek morning can be swapped round to make room for a second try.
Highlights
Three ways to do it
Budget
₹11,500 pp
Breakfast only; you eat in local restaurants in the evening
Ask for BudgetValue
₹19,500 pp
Breakfast and dinner included; private car shared by two
Ask for ValueComfort
₹34,000 pp
Breakfast and dinner in the hotel, with a local guide for the monasteries
Ask for ComfortIndicative, per person, twin sharing, for the whole package. Mix tiers night by night if you like. Your written quote lists every cost.
Day by day
Meet your car or take a shared jeep from NJP, Bagdogra or Siliguri and drive up NH10 along the Teesta river, past Sevoke and Rangpo, where foreign travellers collect the Sikkim Inner Line Permit. Arrive in Gangtok in the afternoon and check in. Walk down to MG Marg in the early evening for a first look at the town and dinner. Hand your ID and photos to the travel agent tonight or tomorrow morning for the Nathu La permit.
If the night was clear, start with sunrise at Tashi viewpoint. After breakfast, take a half-day taxi round Enchey Monastery, Do Drul Chorten and the Namgyal Institute of Tibetology, then ride the ropeway from Deorali for a view over the town. Spend the afternoon in Lal Market and the lanes below MG Marg. Keep the day gentle; tomorrow goes high. Confirm your permit and pick-up time with the agent before dinner.
Leave at 7 am in a registered vehicle. The road climbs past Kyongnosla to Tsomgo and on to Nathu La at 4,310 m, where you walk slowly up to the border viewing area. Come down to Baba Harbhajan Singh Mandir, then stop at Tsomgo Lake on the way back for a shore walk or a yak ride. Return to Gangtok by mid-afternoon. Nathu La is usually closed on Mondays and Tuesdays; on those days the trip goes to Tsomgo and Baba Mandir only.
A slower day. Drive across the valley to Rumtek, show your ID at the gate and spend an hour at the main prayer hall, the Golden Stupa and the old monastery below. Stop at Lingdum on the way back, a newer and very calm monastery. The afternoon is free for shopping or rest. If yesterday's high trip was cancelled by weather, use this day for it and move Rumtek to the morning of day 5.
Leave Gangtok after breakfast, by 9 am if you have an afternoon flight from Bagdogra or train from NJP. The drive down NH10 can be slowed by traffic and roadworks near Rangpo and Sevoke, so do not book a departure earlier than about 3 pm. In the monsoon, leave even earlier and keep your onward ticket flexible if you can.
Included
Not included
Where you sleep
A long-running, family-run guest house on Bhanu Path, a short walk below MG Marg. Rooms are simple and warm, the garden is quiet, and the welcome …
An established mid-range hotel on Tibet Road, a few minutes' walk from MG Marg, with rooms that look out over the valley towards Kangchenjunga on clear …
A heritage hotel built in the 1930s as the royal guest house of the Chogyals of Sikkim, now run by Elgin Hotels. It has period rooms, …
A large, full-service resort on the outskirts of Gangtok with a spa, indoor pool and landscaped grounds. It is the most resort-like stay in the region …
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Questions travellers ask
Yes, for a first visit. Four nights give you a day in town, a full day for the high trip and a half day at Rumtek, plus a buffer. If you want to add North Sikkim or the Silk Route, add at least two or three more nights rather than squeezing them into this plan.
Yes, with one change. Foreign nationals need the Sikkim Inner Line Permit, collected at Rangpo or in advance, and can visit Tsomgo Lake with a Protected Area Permit, usually in a group of two or more. They cannot go to Nathu La, so day 3 becomes a Tsomgo-only trip. Check current status before you travel.
If the pass is closed for snow or security, the trip usually goes only as far as Tsomgo and Baba Mandir, if those are open. We then try Nathu La again on day 4 and move Rumtek. If it stays closed, the agent refunds the difference in vehicle cost. Check current status before you travel.
Mostly yes, because you sleep at about 1,650 m in Gangtok and only visit the high places for a few hours. The steps at Nathu La are tiring at 4,310 m, so some older travellers stay at the lower area. Anyone with heart or lung problems should consult a doctor before going above 3,500 m.
Yes. North Sikkim permits for Lachung or Lachen are arranged in Gangtok, and trips usually leave in the morning for two or three nights. Add those nights after day 3, then return to Gangtok before travelling down. That turns this into a seven or eight night trip.
For snow with a good chance of the road being open, choose March or April. December to February brings more snow but more closures. In May and October, snow is usually limited to the area around Nathu La. From June to September there is little snow and a lot of cloud.
Not much. Walking is mostly short: monastery courtyards, MG Marg, the shore at Tsomgo and the steps to the viewing area at Nathu La. Gangtok is steep, so the town walks feel harder than their length suggests. Comfortable shoes with grip are enough; you do not need trekking boots.
Prices are per person for two people sharing a room and, where relevant, a car. Single travellers pay more because rooms and cars are not shared. Groups of four or more pay less per person on the car and permit-day costs. All prices are indicative and depend on season and availability.
Pack layers: light clothes for Gangtok days, a fleece and a windproof jacket, gloves, a warm hat and thermal underwear for Tsomgo and Nathu La. Add sunglasses, sunscreen, lip balm, a refillable bottle, basic medicines and a power bank. In winter, waterproof shoes or boots help in snow.
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